Digital stills - This was my first couple of attempts to photograph dolphins. The maximum focal length I had available was 200mm (1.5 multiplier on the sensor, 300mm - 35mm equivalent). The 200mm end of the zoom was most useful. However even though the dolphins are close to the shore, the dolphins will not fill the frame. I was using a monopod and this worked well. The field of view at 200mm means that you do not have to look through the lens to take a photo but can sight on the top pf the prism and align with the opposite bank of the Moray. I found this to be a good way of framing if you have not done this before.

However this was insufficient for large high quality images. I would recommend a zoom of up to 300mm lens. (450mm - 35mm equivalent). If you are using a short lens I would suggest working in RAW (NEF - Nikon). My pictures would have been much improved. Mind you there is an element of luck. We were visiting on holiday and selected days at random and according to those at the site we missed some good days! However we always saw dolphins, so that was good. I used either a Nikon D200 with an F2.8 70-200mm lens or a Sony DSC-T100 for general background images and some dolphin pictures.

Movies - My wife took these using either Canon or Panasonic MiniDV format cameras with a telephoto conversion lens on the Panasonic. A zoom of 10-15 times is good. I know less about this technology.

Dolphin sites & times

Chanonry Point - There is no agreed good time to see dolphins, particularly in summer. The tide needs to be running. I reckon you have the best bet of seeing dolphins after low tide. Ideally, be there say 2 hours after it is at the low ebb, although they certainly show from an hour after low tide onward. You can never guarantee they will be there but thats the fun of photography from the shore!

Fort George - Instead of swimming close to Chanonry point the dolphins can be seen from the beach on the Fort George side, similar timing to above and looking across to Chanonry point. I've seen some nice pictures from here too.

Cromarty - From Cromarty there is a great walk to the Sutors of Cromarty, a grand view point. I have seen dolphins from here. They present a more distant picture but nonetheless a good one. Cromarty is worth a visit, a calm and historic place.